The Time-Travelling Bandwagon Extravagansa!
by FlaxenHairedSamurai
Summary: Co-written with Fortune Maiden. Well, this is what happens when two fangirls get talking about time travel. Join us as we travel through time and space to fix history and make new friends! Rated for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is what happens when two bored Sengoku Basara fans get talking and decide to mess with the timeline. Co written with Fortune Maiden, we both admit that we own nothing to do with Sengoku Basara, but that it holds a dear place in our hearts. **

**Now, let the madness...BEGIN!**

* * *

Alright, if someone up there's laughing at me, then quit it. There's nothing funny about a fifteen (nearly sixteen!) year old trying to rent a wooden wagon in this modern day and age. Though, if you're laughing at me about the cowpat I nearly slipped in, then yeah, carry on. That part was pretty funny. "How big did you say it needed to be?"

"Uh..." Okay, how many of us were there again? Last time I checked, it was around seven or eight, but that number was going up and up with each message. "Just give me the biggest one you've got."  
"Hmm, will this do?" Chewing on the inside of my cheek (really should stop doing that) I looked it over, tilting my head to one side. Well, there was room for at least ten people in the back and then another two on the box in front. Taking room off for supplies... "Kid?"

"Two things: Yeah, it'll do and I'm not a kid!"

"Anyone who needs to get a permission slip is a kid. Got it?" Nodding, I clenched my fists again, taking the farmer's proffered hand. If this guy didn't owe my aunt's ex husband's sister a favour... then I'd be looking for another farmer. Who would probably make me pay a lot more. Why did I hate this guy again? "Right, so I'll go grab the shire horse from the stables so you can actually get somewhere with this thing."  
Ah, a non believer. To think I used to be one. The second his back was turned, I crept onto the box, putting my hands together and scrunching my eyes. "Don't mess this up for me."

* * *

Huh... so this is what my stepdad meant by America being strange. After all, if I was steering the wagon through England then the taxis would've been black, not yellow and... what? Oh...yeah, welcome to America! Don't ask how me and the horse got here, just know that ferries are very kind to horses, and that no one questions lone travellers.

Wriggling my nose to get rid of a particularly annoying itch, I shifted my position slightly, getting rid of the numb sensation. Hopefully Fortune would be willing to lend some couch cushions for this endeavour, because if the benches in the wagon were anything like the box, then we were in for a bad time. Then again, that depended on two things: My driving skills and America's geography. As all my friends loved to joke, the girl taking GSCE Geography is also the only girl who could get lost three streets away from home, which meant in a different city, in another country on another continent, I had no chance.

But I had an advantage! One that not even the worst naysayer could dispute. I had...a satnav that may or may not have come from my brother's car. If all went well on this trip, I'd be back with enough time to replace it before he even realised it was gone. Finally, as it seemed like I was never going to get anywhere, the little computer finally dinged with the most heavenly sound, '_You have arrived at your destination.' _

Dropping from the box, I landed neatly, making my way to the wall of buzzers before me, finally hitting on a snag. I had no idea what my partner's last name is, or even her first name (common sense dictates you don't release some things online, take note kiddies) so I leapt at the chance to do something I'd always wanted to do.

Placing my finger on a button, I proceeded to drag it down, pressing every single buzzer in sight.

* * *

There was an unmistakable pain in my lungs as I dragged myself up the last step. Alright, I would never complain about the second floor in school again, this was the worst form of exercise known to man! Collapsing on the landing, I gave a small wave to the woman coming up behind me, who fixed me with an odd look and carried on walking. In an attempt to get my breathing back under control, I closed my eyes, letting my chest rise and fall slowly.

About three minutes passed, with very little foot traffic, until a foot nudged my side. "I'm gonna guess. You're the FlaxenHairedSamurai?"

Blinking slowly, I opened one eye, looking up at a semi familiar face. _Looks like __Oichi from Pokémon Conquest. _"Only if you're Fortune Maiden."

Grinning, Fortune pulled me back to both feet, frowning when I stood a little taller (genes are awesome that way.) "The wagon's out front. I'm ready to go when you are. But first... I don't suppose you'd be willing to lend some cushions?"

* * *

Once Fortunes stuff was safely loaded in the wagon, along with the food and water, I hopped back onto the box, taking up the reins again. "So 88mph, and then we'll be seeing some serious history?"

"That's the general idea." Biting my lip, I looked towards my travelling partner. With my hair tightly pulled back, there was no way of hiding my expression. I was terrified.

But with trembling hands, I urged the horse forwards, watching it steadily gain speed, until there was a flash of bright light... and fresh air hit our nostrils.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright people, we're back and despite our best efforts, neither I nor Fortune Maiden have gained the rights to Sengoku Basara or Samurai Warriors.  
This chapter brought to you by Fortune Maiden.**

* * *

Chapter 2

Destination: ?

There are always those who place too much stock in logic and refuse to believe anything that they can't personally experience. As one of those people, I have to say…if you really, really believe in something hard enough, it'll happen. Really. Honestly.

How else would you explain racing down a highway at 88mph on a horse-drawn wooden wagon in 21st Century America one minute and staring at an authentic Japanese castle (in what is clearly not 21st Century Japan) the next?

Flaxen got out the wagon first, fully taking in the sight. "Wow, we actually made it," she said cheerfully. Of course, there was never any doubt that we would (really), but still. We actually made it to…to…

_"You have arrived at your destination."_ The GPS's robotic voice caused us both to jump. I looked over at the little computer.

"Huh? It still works? I thought we were heading to the past. Before computers and all." I said tapping the device with one finger. The display wasn't changing. All it showed was a wide-open space and a crudely drawn little castle icon with a bright red flag over it. Flaxen peered over the wagon to have a better look.

"Yeah, I guess it does," she shrugged, "I guess it's still getting a connection from somewhere. But that doesn't matter, look at the top of the screen." I did as she instructed.

There were two things of note there. The name of the destination our course had been set to was the first. It read "Oshu." That was the first oddity.

"I thought we were headed to Owari to get the Odas first," I told Flaxen. That was how the messages panned out anyway. She just smiled mysteriously.

"Let's save the best for last."

Well, I couldn't argue with that logic. Besides we had two very important things to pick up in Oshu: a horse and a driver. Our horse was nice and all, but he wouldn't be able to handle such a long journey by himself. It would be nice to have a backup, and there was only one equine suitable for the job. The driver was necessary because admittedly, neither Flaxen nor I could drive…how we even got this far was a mystery. As with the horse, there was only one man suitable for the job.

And he lived in Oshu castle. But not just any old Oshu castle—a very specific one. Which brought me to the next oddity of the GPS. Underneath the destination was a line that I was certain did not exist there before. At least, I've never seen such a thing on a GPS. And I've seen a lot of GPSes in my time, considering my mom goes through them like tissues.

The line read, "World: Basara."

"That's…convenient," I muttered. With all of the time and space hopping we were going to be doing, it was rather nice that our modern technology would accommodate us in such a way.

"I just hope it goes back to normal at the end of all this," Flaxen didn't seem to share my sentiments. Her voice suggested that there was a long story behind how there came to be a GPS in our bandwagon, but now was not the time to ask it.

I crawled out of the wagon taking in the nice 16th(?) century soil for the first time. The air was cool here, not at all like the suffocating humidity back home. But now was not the time to enjoy that. Now was the time to put our crew together.

* * *

Getting into the castle had been surprisingly easy. I mean, considering Flaxen and I weren't superhuman fighters (we should probably make a note to ask the guys for combat lessons) and didn't have any ninja skills to sneak in with, getting into a Warlord's castle should not have been as easy as walking in through the front gate.

Scratch that, it was literally walking in through the front gate. Know that guards are very kind to horses and no one questions lone travellers.

We found who we were looking for very easily too. The castle had a nice garden with a great view and the castle's lord was currently using it to practice his swordsmanship (like I said, a great view). But never mind him for now. We weren't here to recruit the six-sword-wielding, Engrish speaking, One-Eyed Dragon of Oshu.

We were here to recruit his right eye.

Katakura Kojuro.

Target sighted.

There were many ways we could have approached Kojuro to ask him to join our crew. We could have asked for a formal meeting, introduced ourselves properly, explained our purpose, ambushed him in the fields, et cetera, et cetera.…but we were two 21st century girls who discovered we had a time-traveling bandwagon and found ourselves face to face with one of our favorite Basara figures. Diplomacy took a bit of a back seat.

"Oh my gosh, it's actually Kojuro!" I whispered to Flaxen, my voice rising several octaves in the process. She shared my giddy excitement and the two of us stood there giggling and whispering to ourselves, barely registering the level of noise we were making. Kojuro had already turned to glare at us, before evident confusion set in on his face, and Masamune, a very "shoot first, ask questions later" kind of guy, was already cursing up a storm as he approached us.

"Ok. What the hell is going on here, who are you two, and how did you get in here?" He yelled, pointing his wooden practice sword at us. This instantly quieted us up and we stood there unable to move for a second. Finally Flaxen said,

"Um, I'm FlaxenHairedSamurai and this is Fortune Maiden. The guards let us in?" she pointed to our bandwagon where the four soldiers who had been ordered to guard the gate were fawning over our horse. Masamune stared at the sight with his mouth hanging open, as Kojuro came up beside him, shaking his head.

"I thought your orders were to keep out all suspicious characters," he snapped causing them to cower in fear behind our horse. Kojuro didn't wait for them to stammer a response. He immediately turned to us.

"I don't know who you are or what you're selling. But trespassing on Lord Masamune's territory will not go unpunished." His voice was every bit as firm and intimidating as I'd imagined.

"Think they're the Weasel's spies? Only he would wear such gaudy clothes," Masamune scowled staring us up and down. Well that was just rude. We were dressed perfectly sensibly…for our time anyway. Hmm, maybe we should have stopped by a tailor's first.

"We aren't anyone's spies," I explained, "We're time-travellers. We have come from the future to right wrongs and triumph over evil!" Flaxen gave me a strange look. Masamune chuckled.

"What cheesy play did you steal that line from," he relaxed his sword slightly, "So your time-travellers, you say?"

"Lord Masamune?" Kojuro gave him a warning look. He did not look even slightly convinced. Well, couldn't blame him really. Quoting a terrible 90s dub probably wasn't the best way of introducing myself, but admittedly, it was the first thing that came to mind. That and I didn't really want to reveal our true purpose until we gathered our team, which included a lot more than just Kojuro.

"Um, yes, we came from the 21st cent—er, about 500 years from now," Flaxen explained, "We are here on a very important mission, and we were hoping we could ask Lord Kojuro to join us for this task.

"No." Their replies were simultaneous and instantaneous.

"I will only serve Lord Masamune," Kojuro stated firmly.

"Kojuro is my right eye. You can't just barge in here and demand his services for your shady time-travelling justice campaign. Go bother someone else. Like Flower Boy or Sanada. Let's go Kojuro," he turned around, urging Kojuro to follow him. Kojuro nodded gravely at us and turned to leave alongside Masamune.

"So now what?" Flaxen whispered, "Somehow that went a lot better in the PMs." No kidding. But then, when we put together our group during the planning stage, we didn't exactly extend them an invite asking them to RSVP.

…Maybe we should have.

"Maybe we should try ambushing him in the fields?" Flaxen suggested, "We could travel back a little earlier so this meeting technically doesn't happen and—"

"Yeah but…" an idea started forming in my mind, "Hold on, let me try something first." I raced ahead to catch up with the retreating Masamune.

"Hey, Big Boss, can I bend your ear for a sec?" I asked. Kojuro shook his head, but Masamune waved him off.

"It's cool. This kid's small and unarmed. She tries anything funny, I can handle it," he boasted. I should have taken offense, but unfortunately he was right. We left our weapons in the bandwagon.

I gestured for Masamune to come closer so I could whisper into his ear with anyone else overhearing. He looked amused at my determination, but the amusement quickly faded as soon as he heard what I had to say.

"Are you sure? Is that even possible?"

"Yep, you help us out by lending us Kojuro, and we'll be sure to do it. We can even come back here to let you have the first strike." Masamune looked deep in thought for a moment, as he contemplated my offer.

"No kidding, eh?" he whistled.

"Lord Masamune?" Kojuro was already looking weary, and for a moment, I feared for my own safety. Behind me, Flaxen looked on curiously.

Suddenly Masamune grinned. "I have a better idea," he said and called out to the men in the garden, "Alright boys, pack your stuff. We're going on a field trip!"

The Date Men started cheering before they realized they had no idea what he was talking about. Then they exchanged confused looks.

Only Kojuro understood right away. "Lord Masamune, surely you don't believe—you can't be serious!"

"Aw don't be such a stick in the mud, Kojuro," the One-Eyed Dragon's eyes flashed mischievously, "I can't say I'm not a little curious about these kids' claims. And if we can really settle that unfinished business, all the better." He shoved his wooden sword in Kojuro's arms. "I'm going to get dressed. All of you'd better be ready when I get back." The Date Men cheered again, while Kojuro just sighed.

Flaxen came up to me confused. "What did you say to him?" she asked.

"I may have hinted to him about one of our top priority goals in this adventure."

"You mean…" she mouthed the rest of the sentence. I nodded. Flaxen stared at Masamune's retreating figure in amazement. "That certainly explains why he's suddenly so fired up, but…" she looked at the four Date Men making themselves comfortable in the bandwagon. "This may prove to cause a spacing issue later."

"Oh," Now that I thought about it, our initial group was to have 9 people including ourselves. With Masamune and his men tagging along that number instantly shot up to 14. I looked at the bandwagon again.

"I think we'll be fine as long as no one else joins," I said after a while, sincerely believing those words.

Kojuro just continued staring at us, likely wondering if this was some sort of trap or crazy dream.

That's when Flaxen remembered our other purpose for coming here.

"Hey, Kojuro? Can we borrow a horse?"

* * *

Destination: Kaga

With our two handlebar-wearing horses (because Masamune insisted) and the entire Dragon of Oshu safely (and loudly) in tow, our next stop was Kaga to pick up our adorable team mascot (and his handler). Kojuro was seated at the box, with Flaxen beside him to explain how to work the time machine and me stuck at the back with five more people than we'd expected.

I thought the bandwagon was big enough when Flaxen brought it, but now I was starting to have my doubts.

"So if I understand correctly, we need to drive at a speed of 88 miles per hour, and then this little box here," Kojuro pointed at the GPS, "will take us where we need to go."

"Yep," Flaxen nodded, "I've already set our destination, so you can just floor it."

"Right," Kojuro didn't seem convinced, "How fast is 88 miles per hour exactly?"

I groaned. Oh right, American measurements didn't exist yet.

"Er, it's about 140 kilometers, give or take a little," Flaxen explained after a little mental math.

"…What's a kilometer?"

And British measurements weren't in use in Sengoku Basara Japan. Hmm this was going to be harder than I thought.

Fortunately, Masamune chose this moment to speak up. "Kojuro, just go already. Once you hit whatever speed you need, whatever needs to happen will happen anyway. Come on, I want to see this thing in action!" Hmm, maybe Masamune would have his uses after all.

Once Kojuro heard his Lord's demands, he snapped to attention, holding up the reigns. "Yes, Lord Masamune!" he yelled and brought them down.

We were off!

* * *

Our swift and timely arrival at the Maeda castle quickly convinced our skeptics that this was in fact a time machine and instantly raised the excitement levels of all present. Masamune's eye was sparkling like a kid's at a candy store as he immediately figured out what sort of potential our bandwagon had, and he was already calling together a war council for that purpose.

He could conquer Japan on his own time; right now we had more important things to do.

"So that's the story," Flaxen explained to Maeda Keiji, as Yumekichi ran up and down her arm playfully. Unlike a certain someone who pointed a wooden sword at us, Keiji was a lot more accepting of our story. It may have had something to do with the fact that when our bandwagon appeared out of nowhere, it nearly ran him over, but that was beside the point. The point was that Keiji believed us, and he was quite eager to join us.

"A trip like this sounds like a great adventure," he said, "Count me in." Leaving Yumekichi with Flaxen, he quickly climbed into the bandwagon. "Hey there Masamune, Katakura, Date Men. Long time no see!"

"Hey there Flower Boy," Masamune looked up at him, "So they roped you in as well."

"Haha, I'm always up for an adventure, you know me," he looked around shiftily, barely acknowledging that Yumekichi had jumped back on his shoulder, "So how does this thing work anyway?"

"Who knows? We just hit a really fast speed and _Whoosh!_ Here we are," Masamune leaned over to the font of the wagon, where I had taken a seat next to Kojuro (since Flaxen wanted to sit in the back with Yumekichi this time). "By the way, can I drive?"

"No!" Flaxen and I snapped, a feeling of impending doom upon us. There was a reason it was Kojuro and not Masamune that we had invited after all.

"I believe it would be best if I took the lead for now Lord Masamune," Kojuro explained, likely feeling the same sense of doom, "This is…harder than it looks." Masamune looked like he wanted to argue, but something else caught his attention. "Maeda, why are you looking around so much?"

Keiji laughed nervously, "Oh no reason, you know." He straightened up, which only made it more suspicious. "Let's just get going, we have a few others to recruit as well don't we?"

"Yeah, that's true," Flaxen shrugged and we exchanged nods. I had just finished inputting our next destination, when there was suddenly a loud crash behind us.

"Uh oh," Keiji muttered and Yumekichi facepalmed.

"What was that?" Flaxen asked trying to turn around, but Keiji quickly moved to the back of the wagon holding his arms up to block the view.

"Nothing, nothing, let's go already."

Experience says that the more someone denies something, the bigger the issue is. Because of that, we were all curious.

"Oi, Flower Boy, what did you do?" Masamune asked at the same time that one of his men (the one with the pompadour) yelled,

"Boss, there's a woman with a deadly aura wielding a naginata approaching behind us!" It took us .5 seconds to understand who that was.

"Drive, drive!" I yelled to Kojuro, who immediately jerked the reigns to make the horses run. The last thing we heard as we left Kaga was Matsu yelling about spices in her husband's food…

* * *

Destination: Kai

"So you guys are time-travellers from 500 years in the future and you want me to join your group and help you fulfill your vague and only slightly hinted at mission?" Sarutobi Sasuke asked as soon as we had finished explaining everything (with marginally helpful inputs from Keiji and Masamune).

"Yep, it'll be fun," I gave him my best innocent smile in hopes that it would convince him. Flaxen and I had decided that a ninja was an absolute necessity. After screening the potential candidates, we decided that Sasuke was the universal best choice. Some members of our group complained, but it was ultimately out of their hands.

Figures he'd drive the hardest bargain though.

"And this bandwagon thing actually works?" the question was directed at Kojuro, who after driving it through time twice could only shrug and nod. "And _you're_ going along with this?" Another shrug and nod.

"I don't know," Sasuke drawled, "I'm perfectly happy here serving Lord Shingen and Master Sana—"

"SHH!" we suddenly shushed him gesturing at Masamune, who was currently being distracted by his retainers. We had all agreed that if we wanted to get in and out of Kai without any incident, we would need to keep Masamune sufficiently distracted so that he wouldn't try to go settle any rivalries. So far it was working, but he had ears like a hawk, so it was imperative that we didn't mention a certain name. Sasuke glanced at Masamune and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah like I said, I'm perfectly happy here in this nice peaceful—

That sentence was interrupted by a decidedly not nice or peaceful _"YOU FOOL!"_ which was followed by a loud _"BOOM!"_ and was further followed by a very loud _"RIP!"_

All of us stood there stunned. Except Sasuke who looked mildly surprised and confused before his expression settled on annoyed.

"Yeah, on second thought, I could use a change of scenery." He remarked and jumped into the bandwagon unenthusiastically. "Hey," he called out to one of his hidden ninjas, "Tell Lord Shingen and Master You-Know-Who, I'm going on a short vacation. I'll be back soon, maybe." The hidden ninja understood and went to go deliver the message. Probably. We think. He remained hidden the whole time after all.

As Sasuke stretched out in the bandwagon, Flaxen whispered to me, "Was that the sound of a screen ripping?"

"Looks like we were right," I whispered back, as the bandwagon once again started moving.

* * *

Destination: Orochi-Verse Campsite.

"Huh?" Flaxen asked as she read the screen. "Why'd you set a course for here?" Everyone else had crawled out to look around this new area.

It had to be said: We weren't in Basara-Japan anymore.

"I wasn't sure where to find him in Warriors-Japan, and this is the ultimate Everyone Lives AU. He's perfectly healthy here, I think, and he's an experienced time-traveller already, so it'll be easier to explain everything." That explanation worked for Flaxen, who finally jumped out of the wagon.

"So where do we find him?"

"Um…let's just start walking around, I'm sure we'll run into him soon."

* * *

"Okay, new plan. Sasuke, can you find a small boy wearing white robes and a white and gold beret? He should have a giant compass with him."

"And maybe some cats."

* * *

We _(FINALLY)_ found Takenaka Hanbei lounging in the staff quarters, surrounded by books, and a cat in his lap. Why we didn't think to look there first was truly a mystery.

Hanbei looked up from his book as we entered, and smiled. It was almost as if he were expecting us.

"Hi there," he called out to us, "I don't think I've seen you in this camp before. Are you guys new or just visiting?" His voice was light and cheerful but it was clear that he was intensely studying our every move.

"We're just visiting," I explained smiling shyly. Flaxen nudged me to continue. "M-my friend Flaxen and I are time-travellers from the future and we were hoping you would join us in our mission."

"Hmm? Okay!"

"Um, it's a very important mission. We have detected some unforgivable incidents that need to be corrected and—

"Um, Fortune, he already agreed," Flaxen told me. Sure enough, Hanbei was laughing at my stammering.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to convince me anymore. You guys are from the Mystic Realm right?"

"Ah well, no actually," Flaxen admitted sheepishly. Hanbei raised a brow at this.

"Oh? Now my curiosity's really been piqued. Two strangely dressed girls arrive in our little camp, in a horse-drawn wagon with several strange men in tow, including one that looks exactly like our Lord Masamune. This really looks interesting now."

"Hmm, I guess we are a weird bun—hang on, how did you know about that. You haven't seen the bandwagon. It's on the other end of this camp." Flaxen's eyes widened.

"I'm the All-Knowing Hanbei," he smirked mischievously, getting up to stretch. The cat jumped down from his lap and ran off. Aww, I was hoping I could ask to pet it.

Hanbei walked past us, outside the tent (where Sasuke was waiting patiently with his arms crossed) before turning around and adding, "The cats told me."

We exchanged looks with Sasuke who just shrugged.

Huh….Guess he really was expecting us.

* * *

"Alright everyone, meet Takenaka Hanbei. Hanbei, meet everyone," I announced after we'd reunited in our wagon. Hanbei cheerfully introduced himself, while everyone else just stared at him in shock.

"Takenaka…Hanbei, you say?" Kojuro repeated the name slowly, icily. I froze.

"He looks…different than I remember," Masamune narrowed his eyes, "But then again I never saw him without the mask. Hey Flower Boy, you two knew each other for a long time right? Is this Takenaka as a kid?"

"How rude. I'm not a kid," Hanbei mock-pouted, "And I've never met any of you in my life. You guys must be from another world."

"Another…world?"

"Don't worry about it," Hanbei waved the question away, "Even if there is another Takenaka Hanbei in your world, he's not me, so it's best if you just nod and go with it." I knew it was a good idea to bring Hanbei. "Nod and go with it" was practically a motto for their own world, so they understood that advice well.

They nodded and went with it.

"So how does this thing work?" Hanbei asked, "If you're not from the Mystic Realm, you're following a different set of rules right?"

"Yep, we just set our destination to our satnav, and once we hit a certain speed, we're there." Flaxen explained.

"Satnav—never mind. But what's the power source of this thing?" Maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring Hanbei. He asked too many logical questions.

"Just nod and go with it," Sasuke parroted sarcastically. As the only sane man of his world, he had naturally been filled with curiosity at first too, but he had already stopped questioning it. Hanbei didn't seem too happy about having to take his own advice, but he quickly changed the subject.

"So is this everyone?"

"Not just yet," Flaxen told him, "There's still one more clan we need to visit. Next stop, the Odas!"

"THE ODAS?" The protests were barely audible over the sound of the horses' hooves.


	3. Chapter 3

**And we're back! Did you miss us? Did ya? Oh moo to you then! Neither I nor Fortune Maiden own either Samurai Warriors or Sengoku Basara. We do however own the bandwagon until I have to take it back and cash in on the security deposit! **

**This chapter written by yours truly.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Spiders. Large snakes. Freddy from Elm Street. I'd faced them all, never afraid to admit to being scared. But the one time I was truly terrified, my throat closed up.

After a glare filled journey, during which Fortune sat in the box with Kojuro, I'd talked myself through what I was going to say. How I would act. Even how much eye contact I should use. Truthfully, I'd been preparing for this moment for a long time, fighting every part of me that even tried to speak sense.

"You okay?" Fortune's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and back in front of our new destination. Behind me, I could hear a few of the bandwagon's occupants complaining again, only to be shushed by Keiji and Hanbei. "We could always go grab the other set."

"Nah, then there _would_ be a riot." Snorting lightly to myself, I forced my feet forward ignoring the startled looks around me, stopping only when one of the on duty guards had the tip of his sword at my throat.

"State your business, strange garbed woman!" Yeah, we should really hurry and get changed.

"I wish to speak to Lord Oda. I-I have information he may find useful."

Furrowing his brow, the guard didn't let the sword drop, until he took note of the crossbow on my back. "Leave your weapons at the door. If you are merely here to waste time, Lord Oda will deal with you himself."

Nodding furiously, I unstrapped the bolt bag and crossbow, dropping them in the bandwagon. As I turned to leave, Masamune grabbed my wrist, "Are you sure we can trust this Oda?"

"More than we can trust yours." I smiled, already running back to where Fortune was waiting for me.

* * *

The smell of incense was thick in the air, pricking hard at my nose. Next to me, Fortune sneezed, a small reminder I wasn't alone here. "How long do you think we have until they get bored?"

"When there's an explosion from outside, then we know it's time to cut our losses." With that little joke out of the way, the tension certainly eased up, just as footsteps began to approach the meeting room. I tensed up, feeling my hands form into tightly locked fists as the door was opened. Against my better judgement, I risked glancing upwards, freezing almost instantaneously.

Tall, proud and intimidating were the only words my mind could form, watching Nobunaga breeze past us to stand at the front of the room. I could briefly feel Fortune's eyes on me, urging me to speak. _So much for rehearsing. _

"We wish to extend an invitation to you, Lord Oda." Fortune started, her voice filling the room with ease. "Forgive my friend, she has been looking forward to meeting you for some time now."

"Is that so? What kind of an invitation?"

"T-Time travel." I finally stuttered out, internally wincing at the pathetic sound trying to pass itself as my voice. "Not that you have much of a choice. There's an army marching here as we speak; intent on taking your head."

Now _that_ had been an interesting conversation topic back on the bandwagon. Between dodging questions from Masamune, many of which were about the man standing before me, and thinking about this meeting, I'd been focusing on the first time I ever even heard Nobunaga's name.

* * *

_June, 1582. Honno-Ji, Kyoto. Betrayed by his retainer Mitsuhide Akechi, Nobunaga Oda was swallowed in the flames of history._

* * *

"An army you say? Under whose banner do they march against Nobunaga?"

Now or never. I suppose the worst case scenario was that he refused, and I'd be left to ambush him in the fie- Wait, that was the Kojuro back up plan. I _knew_ I was forgetting something! Of all the knuckleheaded, idiotic...okay breathe. I'll just adjust the plan a little. Ambush him on the _battlefield, _that should do it! Yeah. I should come up with plans all the time, especially on the spur of the moment. "Uh, Flaxen? You still in there?"

Snapping out of my planning reverie, I noticed two things. One, Nobunaga was gone and Two, Fortune was throwing me a look similar to the one I gave her when she was stuttering around Hanbei...oh dear. "Did I fangirl over him?"

"Nope, but you kinda zoned out, so I explained the situation. He's gone to find Lady Noh and Ranmaru now."

Groaning, I threw myself backwards, much to Fortune's delight. "I'll make you a deal. I don't tease you about Hanbei, and what happened here never leaves this room."

"Deal."

* * *

Well, whilst Nobunaga was warning the guards of Akechi's treachery, and making sure they would put up a good fight, worthy of Nobunaga, I was left appeasing the masses so to speak. If I was a liar, I'd say that the Date guys were discrete in their gawping as Nohime was helped into the wagon, but my mum did a good job keeping that habit firmly non-existent. I spotted the usual confusion over Ranmaru's exact gender, but the matter wasn't really pressed.

"We're certain that these Odas won't try to kill everyone?" Sasuke asked in a low tone, pulling me into the back as he did.

"They're not angels." I admitted, "But they're not the monsters you know."

Once we were properly seated in the bandwagon, and Kojuro started getting us out of there, Fortune took the satnav, inputting the next destination. "Ready to finally start fixing history you guys?"

"Now we're talking!" Hanbei cheered, inadvertently causing Nobunaga to give one of the greatest expressions I'd seen outside of comedies. It was a cross between disbelief and astonishment. From now on I will label it the 'Holy-(insert divine being here)-my-subordinate's-strategist-who-died-three-years-ago-is-actually-alive-and-sitting-in-front-of-me' expression. Maybe I should work on the label. Hanbei should be able to help seeing as he's the one causing it. "Ah well, nice seeing you again Lord Nobunaga! And always a pleasure to see you, my Lady!"

The satnav's computerised voice broke Nobunaga out of it, his head whipping round when it announced the destination was set. Once Kojuro had taken it back, I recovered my crossbow, loading a bolt in preparation.

"Where are we going?" Keiji yelled over the horses.

"Nagashino. In your world." Nodding to me, Fortune took position at the side of the wagon, hanging her arms over. "Sasuke, I'm going to need a hand."

* * *

Once the light had died down, and we were no longer blinded, the Basara crew and the Odas quickly took cover, which meant that for the two minutes we would be near another Masamune and Kojuro, we were going driverless. Don't want to mess up the time stream too badly, right?

Nonetheless, we were on a rescue mission, and hopefully we'd be able to prevent a large chunk of emotional scarring for one character.

The plan was that before dropping down into the wagon again, Kojuro would get us in close, at a speed fast enough to avoid most of the bullets, but not so fast that we wouldn't be able to grab Nagamasa. "And why are we saving my brother in law?" Nobunaga asked, not fazed at all by his first time travelling experience. Which I shouldn't be too surprised at, but y'know, these guys didn't experience much technology.

"Because in this world, Mitsuhide is a backstabbing sociopath, who kills him with the rifles that were supposed to help Tokugawa against the Uesugi and Takeda." Fortune explained, her fists opening and closing in anticipation.

"Not to mention he does it in front of your little sister, which causes her to become some kind of a dark sorceress, which admittedly helps her grow a spine and kill your wife, no offence my Lady. But before she can kill you, you put a bullet in her, just as Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune show up. In other words, we're trying to prevent a scary Oichi."

If my information overload was well, overloading, no-one blinked. Though, that could also have something to do with the fact that Kojuro and Masamune had leapt into the wagon, a hand still on the reins. "Get ready!"

The next few seconds passed somewhat in a breeze, but Fortune and Sasuke managed to grab Nagamasa, helmet and all, whilst I took my shot at Mitsuhide. It went wide, but provided enough of a distraction for us to get out of there. With steady hands, Kojuro urged the horses forwards, the flash of light coming quicker this time, Nagamasa dropping to the ground safely.

Massaging their arms, Fortune and Sasuke fell back against the side, breathing again. "I think it's time to open those snacks." Keiji smirked, already searching through the bag. As the wagon returned to some semblance of order, with Kojuro returning to his driving position with Ranmaru next to him as navigator, I put my crossbow back in the case. My eyes met Fortune's, and I grinned, bursting into laughter. Within a second she'd joined me, leaving the others to stare blankly at us.

"Well everyone," I started, calming down again, "Welcome to the Time Travelling Bandwagon Extravaganza!"

* * *

**Bonus Scene- While Flaxen and Fortune continue the recruiting, the members of the bandwagon muse over security.**

"I'm surprised at how much resistance the guards gave them over entering the temple," Keiji said, stretching out into the temporarily available space.

"I know. Don't those guys know of the ancient proverb?" Hanbei remarked indignantly, "Guards must be kind to horses and never question lone travelers."

"Takenaka, Maeda," Kojuro, ever the voice of reason, grumbled, "Just what part of "lone travelers" does our bandwagon of time-travelers, feudal lords, retainers, vagabonds, ninjas, and strategists fit?"

An uneasy silence passed through the wagon as the occupants processed that bit of information.

Finally, Sasuke spoke, "Well so much for that gag."

The others agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

**We now return to your not so regularly scheduled Bandwagon Madness! However, we do have a few things to announce: **

**1. We don't own Basara, Warriors or the bandwagon we are using (that one's a rental) **

**2. The characters we are using from the Samurai Warriors world will be their SW3 incarnations, unless explicitly stated otherwise. The reason for this is that we came up with a lot of this stuff loooong before either of us was familiar with the SW4 cast. (And on that note, since neither of us has played any Sengoku Basara games and Judge End hadn't been released at the time of these early adventures, we will only be referencing the Production IG Anime for now.),**

**3. If you haven't watched Season 2 of Sengoku Basara or the movie...be warned, MEGA spoilers ahead. **

**This chapter was brought to you by Fortune.**

* * *

In which plans are made, and theories are proposed...

* * *

"The Time Travelling Bandwagon Extravaganza," Sasuke repeated slowly, a look of incredulity on his face. This expression matched the faces of some of our more serious party members, including Ranmaru, Kojuro, and surprisingly, Masamune.

"Mm, the name could use some work," he remarked.

"I agree," Hanbei nodded thoughtfully, "It's quite a mouthful."

Flaxen scowled. "It's a working title! If you have something better, let's hear it." No one offered any suggestions.

"I kinda like it," Keiji shrugged, "It has a nice ring to it. Sounds very…"

"Extravagant?" Nobunaga offered.

"Yeah, exactly!"

And so the issue of our group name was quickly shoved aside in favor of more important topics: Lunch.

We parked our time machine in an open field and shuffled out to stretch our legs. A nice walk in an empty field felt good after a job well done, even if not everyone in our group fully appreciated what we just did.

Saving Nagamasa and Oichi from their Mitsuhide-induced fates was one of those things that would really serve us in the long run, even though we weren't yet sure what that long run was exactly. The true goal of this adventure, which I'd revealed to Masamune to get his retainer—I mean, cooperation, was still a ways off. For starters, we had no idea where (or rather, _when_) to start looking.

The horses were also in need of a break after so much time hopping, so it was probably best if we resolved anything we could in this period before moving on to the next place.

Most of the fellas decided to have an impromptu picnic and indulge in all of the snacks we brought back from the future. It was particularly amusing to see Ranmaru desperately try to insist he didn't have a sweet tooth while hoarding a small pile of treats for himself. Keiji and Masamune ribbed him about it endlessly, while Nobunaga, Noh, Sasuke, and Kojuro had their own discussion. The two Basara characters seemed fairly tense, as if uncertain that the Nobunaga we recruited wasn't going to stab them in the back at some point.

Admittedly, that probably was a reasonable concern, but as long as Flaxen and I were in charge there would be no backstabbing allowed. Unless of course, someone got the bright idea to betray _us_ first, in which case, we would counter beautifully.

With the Date Men enjoying themselves as well, that left only two people unaccounted for: Flaxen and Hanbei. Worried that Ran wouldn't leave them any snacks if this continued, I set out to find them.

* * *

"This is incredible!" For someone who had a reputation of being a lazy strategist, Hanbei was displayed an overabundance of energy as he repeatedly circled the bandwagon examining every minute detail of it. Flaxen stood to the side, unable to get a word in. When she saw me, she quickly pulled me over.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Remind me why you wanted to grab a Hanbei who had experience in time-travel?" she asked, her eye twitching.

"_Because_ he had experience in time-travel?" I answered unsurely, "Was that a bad thing?

"Very."

"Why?"

"Oh hey there Fortune," Hanbei jumped down from the wagon and ran up to me excited, "Great timing, maybe you can answer some questions for me."

"Um…okay?" I wasn't really sure how to answer seeing as Hanbei was giving me a kid-in-a-candy-store expression and Flaxen was vigorously shaking her head behind him, silently yelling "NO!"

Let it be known that I am weak to kid-in-a-candy-store expressions.

"Great, now then, let's start with the horses," he said gesturing not so much to them as to Masamune's decorations for them. "Please explain the significance of the armor."

_Huh?_

"The what of the what now?" I blinked.

"The blue Lord Masamune called them handlebars and exhaust pipes," Hanbei clarified, "I want to know how they affect the horses' performances." I suppose that was a logical response considering handlebars and exhaust pipes didn't exist in—wait, what did any of that have to do anything?

"The All-Knowing Hanbei wishes to know exactly how our bandwagon works," Flaxen finally explained with a heavy sigh. "I've answered enough of his questions, and I'm starving. Your turn." She made her exit a little too quickly for comfort.

Oh well. How hard could it be to explain a machine that probably runs entirely on deus ex machina power?

"The "armor" does absolutely nothing," I told him, "Masamune insisted on it for style reasons. He said he wouldn't be caught dead in an unstylish horse, and we really needed Kojuro to join us. So we compromised."

"Hmm, the Right Eye of the Dragon for a few weird horse accessories...I think it's a fair trade," Hanbei agreed with a shrug. "Now then what about the satnav?"

"How do you even know that word?"

"Flaxen called it that," he said dismissively and crawled into the box of the bandwagon to get a better look, "How does this work exactly?"

"Ah well, in this case, we just put in the destination we want and it automatically gets us to where we need to go." That probably was the best explanation under the circumstances. It's not like the stream of time (and space) was a paved road for the GPS to yell, "Turn right" every five seconds. As soon as we hit 88mph, there was a bright flash of light and a few minutes later we were where we needed to be. Hmm, I can't say I really understood what happened in those few minutes.

"How very mysterious…and the speed of travel is…"

"Oh yeah, that I got from a movie," I laughed. He gave me a puzzled look, but to my surprise he didn't question it. Hmm considering where we pulled Hanbei from, I wouldn't be surprised if he got to know all about the future from the Anegawa created by the Hydra's power. I made a note to ask him about that later.

"Hey…let's try it out," Hanbei suddenly said with a sly grin.

"Huh?"

"Come on, get in the wagon," he urged me, "I want to test something." I began to understand what left Flaxen so drained. Hanbei was really hard to keep up with.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I stammered, "I mean…I can't even drive!" This had the desired effect of deflating Hanbei's enthusiasm.

For about three seconds anyway.

* * *

"Hanbei, what are _they_ doing here?"

Three seconds after Hanbei's enthusiasm deflated, he suddenly perked up and ran off. He returned shortly afterwards dragging a very reluctant Ranmaru by the arm, and trailed by a very amused Nobunaga. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Good, you haven't run off anywhere. Fortune, meet our driver. Oh and Lord Nobunaga wanted to join us as well." Nobunaga nodded and walked right past me into the bandwagon. Ranmaru finally wriggled free.

"Lord Hanbei, what are you up to? Why are you sneaking around behind Lady Flaxen's back already? Why do you need me for this?"

Oh yes. I really had a bad feeling about this.

Hanbei's plan was very simple. For whatever reason, Hanbei really wanted to take a joy ride on the time machine to better understand how it worked. Apparently, he was perfectly content with going with the flow when there was a flow to go with, but now that we were taking a lunch break, he had a burning curiosity to satiate.

This curiosity involved taking a quick trip to any point in time and then coming back. He didn't explain anything else.

"What about the horses?" I whined, sandwiched in-between Hanbei and Nobunaga. Ranmaru sat up front with the reigns in hand, and his weary expression mirrored mine. However, seeing as his Lord was one of the ringleaders for this plan, he had little protest (which I assume is the whole reason Hanbei invited Nobunaga).

"Don't worry, I checked them over and they look perfectly fine," Hanbei insisted. "Besides, we're just going there and back."

"Where is _there_?"

"Your future," Nobunaga laughed, "Let us see what became of Nobunaga's Japan." Didn't Flaxen and I already explain the whole Honnouji Incident to him? Did he really believe us?

I just stared as he continued.

"Rejoice Oran. We can pick up more of those confectionaries while we are there." Ranmaru's ears turned red and Hanbei and I stifled a laugh.

"That is not necessary, my Lord," he insisted and cleared his throat, "Alright. The destination has been set. Please hold on tight…"

* * *

Nothing happened.

The horses ran across the field with all of their speed and strength, we most certainly hit the intended speed (according to the GPS which at least still had some of its normal functions), but all we got for our trouble was a trip across the field.

"Interesting," Hanbei said thoughtfully.

I was just stunned. Why didn't it work? Did we use up our quota for the day? Was the GPS broken? Were the horses too tired?

Were we _stuck_?

"What happened?" Ranmaru was trying very hard to keep his voice steady, "Why are we still here?"

"Oh yeah, well," Hanbei yawned, "Let's go back first. You can travel at a normal speed this time. I'll explain on the way."

"Hanbei, did you know this would happen?" Nobunaga was not amused.

"Mm, fifty-fifty really," Hanbei admitted, "I don't know much about time-travel except what the Mystics were nice enough to reveal, but I suspect the way our bandwagon works isn't completely different from their methods."

"Oh?" Nobunaga stroked his chin thoughtfully. Judging by the weary look Ranmaru was giving us, and my own confusion, I think it was safe to assume that only Nobunaga was on the same page as our experienced time-traveller.

"From what I've seen and the others told me, it doesn't appear that we are travelling to certain people's pasts, so it is safe to assume that we are not bound in where we want to go."

"Yes?" I think I understood that part anyway.

"But I want to know what actually makes this completely ordinary piece of farm equipment capable of traversing the time stream," Hanbei said, "I do have a theory but I still need to run a few more tests…once the horses get some rest anyway."

"What is this theory?" Nobunaga pressed, but his tone of voice suggested that he might have had one too.

"I believe that someone in our bandwagon—not Fortune clearly, has some sort of tie to the Mystic Realm. And that is the source of the bandwagon's powers."

* * *

I didn't have much time to dwell on Hanbei's words. As soon as we got back, we were met by an irritated Sasuke, who'd been tasked with finding us for the first ever Bandwagon meeting.

I'd completely forgotten about it. Earlier, Flaxen and I agreed that once we gathered our team and performed our first feat of time travel magic, we would gather everyone around, and reveal our true purpose for this adventure. Masamune already knew, and he was grinning wildly while everyone around him debated on whether or not that grin meant anything good.

"Where were you guys?" Flaxen asked me, pulling me beside her, "We were waiting forever."

"It's a long story," I said and glanced at Hanbei, hoping he'd explain. But he had already lost interest and took his seat beside Keiji. "Let's talk about that later, and get started with this meeting." I didn't want to ruin the festive mood by casually mentioning that we _might_ be stuck here.

Flaxen shrugged and called everyone to attention. "Alright guys, I'm sure you're all wondering by now why we dragged you guys out of your peaceful—and in Lord Nobunaga's case, doomed—worlds to travel with us across time and space."

We were met with mostly blank and disinterested faces…and Masamune's creepy grin.

I continued, "It has come to our attention, that some of you have been cheated! The universe around you has allowed some heinous things to go unpunished!"

Now this got everyone's attention. Nothing like a little bit of an overly dramatic statement to make everyone think about how much their lives sucked. I continued, "Now then, we've saved Nagamasa from a traumatizing death and have already taken care of Nobunaga—by the way, did you make sure to tell the guards how to greet Mitsuhide when he got there?"

Nobunaga's thunderous laugh echoed across the field. "Of course!"

Flaxen stared at me. "What did you tell him?" she asked. Oh yeah, she was spaced out when I gave him those instructions. I grinned and turned to Nobunaga.

"When Mitsuhide turns up to kill me, the guards are to say "Thank you Mitsuhide, but your Warlord is in another temple"," Nobunaga laughed again, clearly entertained. Around him were some snickers, some groans, and Ranmaru being unsure of which response was more appropriate.

"You didn't," Flaxen's eyes were wide.

"I couldn't resist! Anyway, let's move on to more important things. Gentlemen and Lady Noh, we have summoned you all here to help us get rid of the worst villain known to Basara."

"Nobunaga?" Keiji asked glancing at the non-Basara version to Ranmaru's annoyance.

"Mori Motonari?" Sasuke offered.

"That white haired guy with the mask?" One of the Date men spoke up.

"Bzzt. Wrong," Masamune stood up, "Can I do the honors?" We nodded. "Boys and Other Demon King's Wife, our target is that twisted bard, Matsunaga Hisahide!"

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone who knew whom we were talking about was instantly enraged and energized for time-travel induced retribution, even Keiji. Already we could hear all sorts of creative plans for how to properly punish the smug villain.

On the other hand, the Odas and Hanbei wore blank looks.

"Matsunaga Hisahide," Hanbei considered the name, "I know I've heard it."

"He was one of your retainers my Lord, was he not?" Ranmaru asked.

"Indeed," Nobunaga stroked his mustache, "He owned a most exquisite tea kettle."

"Which he blew himself up with, if I recall correctly," Noh shrugged, "A pity, I guess. But I don't recall him doing anything particularly punishment worthy. In fact I don't think I would even be able to tell him apart from most of our other retainers."

"Consider yourselves lucky!" A Date man cried, "He's the worst!"

"Just about everything bad can be traced back to him somehow," Sasuke added.

"_Everything_." Keiji repeated bitterly.

"And he always gets away with it too," Masamune explained and punched his open palm, "Oh I'm really getting fired up now. I'll drag that bastard to the deepest levels of hell myself if I have to." Kojuro nodded.

The others considered it. Hanbei spoke up. "Ah, for the uninformed, I don't suppose you have a list of those crimes, so we can get a better idea of who we're dealing with."

"That we do," Flaxen smiled and pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. She cleared her throat, "Here is a list of things Matsunaga Hisahide needs to be tied to a chair for punishment for: Capturing the Date Men, Almost killing said men, ransoming the aforementioned men, poisoning the guy bringing the ransom, almost killing the guys bringing the rest of the ransom, not staying around to have his butt kicked, not having the decency to stay dead _after blowing himself up_, kicking Hideyoshi and Keiji when they were down—

"Believe me, _that_ really came back to bite _everyone_!" Keiji sighed sadly. I picked up the list to give Flaxen a moment to breathe.

"Threatening to beat Kojuro within an inch of his life, using him as bait to lure Masamune, not _actually_ using him as bait and nearly blowing up Masamune instead—

"Yeah and there was also whatever past beef he had with Chosokabe," Masamune added, "I don't know the details, but I bet you anything they ain't pretty." Flaxen grabbed the list back and continued reading, her hands gripping the page tightly.

"Moving on, he _stole Nobunaga's skull, DRANK SAKE FROM THAT SKULL, AND HAD THE AUDACITY TO SURVIVE SEASON TWO WITHOUT ANY KIND OF PUNISHMENT!"_

"If you want to get technical, he didn't just survive Season 2, he _caused _it," I grumbled, "And he didn't even show up in the movie so we can just assume he got away with it all. Ah I suppose he double-crossed Hanbei and Hideyoshi too, but since they have their own rap sheet, we can probably let that one slide."

"Except for the part where I was attacked by his ninja," Sasuke pointed out.

"Alright, I'll add _that_ part to the list." I promised.

With all of Matsunaga's crimes out in the open, the mood was very heavy. Ranmaru reacted to the part about the skull the same way as Flaxen and was now actively contributing to the creative punishment discussion.

Noh seemed more surprised than anything…but not so much at the list as her husband's reaction to it. "My Lord?" she asked. Nobunaga was smiling.

"What an interesting character," he mused.

"That is exactly what the Demon King of our world said," Kojuro noted, "When he decided to let him live leading to all but one item on that list."

"Ah so then, most everything can be traced back to Lord Nobunaga then?" Hanbei remarked with a sly smirk, "Still, that's a really long list. And I don't think I like that part about my counterpart being double-crossed. "

"If it's any consolation, I don't think your counterpart really cared," I told him.

The debating and discussion over Matsunaga ceased when Masamune yelled out, "Hey ladies, so what's the plan for capturing that bastard?"

"Ah…" Flaxen thought about it carefully, "We don't really have one right now." The looks of horror and disbelieve we receive were truly comical. "We're open to ideas though!"

"What do you mean you don't have a plan?" Kojuro snapped, "Look at your list. Pick a destination and let's go pick him up from one of them."

"I say let's go to my past," Keiji said, "We can prevent a whole season of heartache."

"That's definitely something we have on our list of fixing," I told him, "But there's not much point in punishing that Matsunaga."

"Yeah, he hadn't had a chance to _do _anything yet," Sasuke explained, "We need to grab the one that disappears after filching that sword from Osaka Castle."

"But unfortunately, he _disappears_." Kojuro stressed, "And we were all focused on more immediate things to pay attention to where he went."

And so we were stumped. There wasn't much point in punishing an innocent Matsunaga (oxymoronic as that was), but we didn't have any idea where to find him. Or even how to punish him. The guy was an expert in coming back from the dead. We needed some way to make it stick.

After some more unsuccessful brainstorming, Hanbei said, "By the way, you mentioned a list of things you want to fix. What else is on that list?"

"We wanted to save Lord Nobunaga from Honnouji," Flaxen began, "We saved Nagamasa, preventing Oichi's breakdown…I hope this prevents her death at Azuchi later too."

"She survives that though, so not much point in fixing it," Sasuke pointed out.

"Preventing the other Nobunaga's death would be nice t—

"NO." Sasuke, Keiji, Masamune, Kojuro and the Date men barked.

"And why not?" Ranmaru demanded with narrow eyes.

"Hello, what part of "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven" sounds like a description for a nice guy to you?" Masamune snapped and gestured at our Nobunaga, "Just because this one looks like some sort of singing fool doesn't mean ours is like that too."

"…Is that so?" Nobunaga's singsong voice was just a little less melodic that time.

"That man cannot be reasoned with," Keiji agreed, "When we say "Demon King", we mean "Demon King". He has crazy demon-y powers and everything."

"Huh, then it sounds like you need an exorcist," Noh laughed. That gave us pause.

"Hmm, an exorcist," I considered it thoughtfully.

"That sounds like it could work," Flaxen smiled as well.

"Seriously?" Sasuke was unimpressed.

"I'll bite, where are you going to get an exorcist?" Keiji however was very interested.

"I think I know just the person," I smiled, "Let's add Kyoto to our itinerary, and pick her up later."

"Yes." And so "Kyoto" had been added to our quest log. This meeting was turning out to be much more productive than I pictured it would be.

"So if you say Kyoto is for later," Ranmaru remarked, "What do you plan to do now?"

Flaxen and I looked over our quest log. I spied something that I had hastily scribbled on at some point, which made it very hard to read. I squinted to get a better look and read out loud,

"Saika."

Oh yeah, the Saika: The mercenary group that Nobunaga tried to exterminate in one of the most brutal stages of the second game. The stage that became the real catalyst for his death at Honnouji in that story.

I suppose if we were going to save one, we may as well save them all.

"Yeah let's go to the Saika village," I said.

"Why?" Nobunaga frowned.

"To save it. We may as well clean up your image a little, convince people your not an omnicidal Demon King and all," I said, "And prevent a certain mercenary from showing up at a certain temple and finishing the job a certain someone can't do." Nobunaga understood immediately.

"So Mitsuhide can't even stick to his resolve. How disappointing." Nobunaga stood up, his wife and page following his lead, "Come."

"Hey we haven't all agreed to that plan!" Masamune shouted after him.

"I can't say I'm opposed to saving people though," Keiji admitted, "I'm in."

"Me too," Hanbei said cheerfully jumping up as well, "I can't say I like following Nobunaga's orders, but it's for a good cause this time."

"I have no objections," Sasuke shrugged. Only the Date remained.

"Tch, I'd much rather get started with the hunt for Matsunaga," Masamune grumbled, "Isn't that supposed to be our goal here?"

"There's nothing wrong with taking a few detours on the way though," Flaxen told him, "Besides, the Saika are a good ally in case you ever want to try taking over the land."

"I don't need any allies, just my boys," Masamune retorted, "But whatever. Since it's not like we have any other options right now."

With Masamune in agreement, Kojuro and the men followed suit without argument. We all met up in the bandwagon, and tried to get comfortable in the cramped space. It was then that I remembered our earlier failure and locked eyes with a somewhat nervous Ranmaru and a nonchalant Hanbei (I did not want to lock eyes with Nobunaga!).

"Don't worry, it'll work this time," Hanbei whispered to me, confidently. That did make me relax somewhat. If the resident genius strategist understood how our time-machine worked, that was definitely a good sign.

My fears were put at rest when we took of and the increasingly familiar feeling of racing through the time stream overtook me. Our destination was the Saika Village, and we were good to go…

We did not end up at the Saika Village…


	5. Chapter 5

**New chapter time! As you know last time we were just heading to the Saika village...and didn't get there! **

**Neither I or Fortune Maiden own Basara, Warriors, or any other form of media referenced here.  
****This chapter was brought to you by me, Flaxen!**

* * *

"Come on Yumekichi, let it out." Our little mascot obliged wonderfully, his lunch reappearing in a torrent of retching.

Who would've thought that stopping for a lunch break and then heading off at 88 miles per hour (not to mention bending space and time) was not a good idea when you have travel sick passengers? Not us, which was kind of evident in the small piles of vomit gathering either side of the wagon.

"Hopefully this will teach you to share the sweets." I joked, dodging the glare Ranmaru sent at me before leaning his head back over.

Meanwhile, Kojuro, Masamune and Fortune were debating our destination, partly because we really weren't sure of our current position, and partly because the satnav had fallen into the back, where it was being ruthlessly hunted down by Sasuke and me. "Found it!"

Rescuing it from under Noh's heel, Sasuke passed it up to Kojuro, who scanned it with a stern glance. "World: Warriors, Kyoto."

"At least we're halfway there." Fortune murmured, neatly side stepping another pile of lunch. "We can just drive from here right?"

"Actually that may be a problem." Kojuro interrupted. He and Masamune had climbed down from the box, and were examining our horses.

"These guys shouldn't be so tired, they had at least an hour's rest when we were eating lunch."

Jumping off the back of the wagon, I moved to stand next to Fortune, who seemed to be glaring slightly at Hanbei. Now that should've sent up an alarm, but I was too busy admiring the view. When I put this idea to Fortune, it'd had originally been over rage of the Matsunaga variety. What I might actually see never really came into it.

"While we're here, we might as well pick up Okuni." Hanbei mentioned lazily, patting Ranmaru on the back. Just as it seemed the poor kid had finally recovered, off he went again. "We can always stable the horses too."

"No offence Shorty," Masamune smirked, leaning up against the side of the wagon, "But we're not exactly a lone traveller. The horses will get treated nice, but we may attract a few stares."

* * *

In the end, only a small group went into the city proper. Fortune promised to bring something back when she saw me sulking at being left behind, but Nobunaga had wanted to get in and out as soon as possible so I wasn't holding out much hope.

Seeing as the Date clan were playing a card game, and my books were packed under the food bags, I decided to approach Noh, who was petting one of the horses with more care than I would've expected considering the woman keeps claws up her sleeves. Despite Masamune's grumblings on the subject, the handlebars and exhaust pipes were removed from the horses and dumped in the back, another reason why reading was out of the question. "Can I help you?"

"I just wondered if you wanted to talk, seeing as we could be waiting for a while." Noh fixed me with a pointed look, before carrying on with her stroking.

"I doubt they'll keep us waiting longer than an hour. If I know my husband, he'll want to head straight for the medicine shop to deal with our little sickness problem."

"And then?"

"Who knows?"

Sensing that the conversation was over, I moved away, again feeling bored. Who knew that even surrounded by her heroes, a girl could wish for something fun to happen? Unfortunately, that led me to fall into the grips of a habit that all my teachers at school had been nagging me about: Thinking about everything but what was relevant.

We'd rescued Oichi and Nagamasa, which was cause for celebration (if eating enough sweets to make two of us sick wasn't celebration, I'd like to see what is) but that just meant we could really do anything in our quest log. Even kill Matsunaga Hisahide, the most slippery snake the Sengoku Period had to offer.

Come to think about it, snakes aren't slippery, they have a very tight grip on things. So where did the expression come from? Maybe Hanbei would know…except he isn't here right now. Because we're stuck until the horses are rested and the others decided to traipse around town.

The second we get back I'm getting my doctor to test me for ADHD.

* * *

Dozing off in a camp with time travellers and assorted samurai may seem like a good idea, but for those of you who value the unbruised quality of your skin, I don't recommend it. Because when I decided to take a nap, all dreams of a nice, tropical paradise vanished, and it was all thanks to one Takenaka Hanbei and his new stick. "Ah you're awake!"

Moving his stick away from my head, our resident (self proclaimed) time travel expert sauntered back to the bandwagon, unaware of the painful revenge I was plotting. Sensing my gaze on his back, Hanbei turned slightly, that cocky grin plastered on, "Unless you don't want your present?"

Eh, revenge could wait.

Clambering back to my feet, I followed him back to our assembling group, noticing the healthier skin colour of Yumekichi and Ranmaru. Well that was the first major obstacle we'd overcome, but I had doubts it would be the last. Spotting me, Keiji rootled in the sack he'd placed in the back, withdrawing a light parcel. "Try this on for size." Over his head, Fortune gave me the thumbs up, untying the strings on her own package.

Tearing a little whole in the material, I poked my finger in, feeling silky material. Suddenly excited, I finished untying the damn thing, and held the garment in front of me. "Oh wow." It was a yukata made of purple silk, with white feathers fluttering to the hem in a pile. The fact that I had no idea how it was paid for seemed extremely unimportant, and I rushed around the side of the wagon, waving it at Fortune who couldn't help laughing.

"I figured you might like it. What do you think of mine?" So wrapped up in my excitement, I hadn't noticed her own package, which turned out to be another yukata, only hers was green with a leafy pattern.

"It's gorgeous! But we have nowhere to wear them." This time it was Hanbei who smirked,

"Yeah right, like you've forgotten. The kabuki show starts later tonight, which leaves you pair enough time to get ready." Then a thought seemed to hit him. "Or maybe I should go see if there's a later showing so Lady Noh can also get ready."

The speed at which he flew away at was truly a marvel to watch. The speed Noh chased him at was even more impressive considering her footwear.

* * *

In the dim evening light, our party of intrepid time travellers moved through the city with slightly more ease than you'd expect. I say slightly because well, the Basara group were fascinated by this familiar yet alien environment, and even though the low lighting hid our Western-ess fairly well, Fortune and I didn't move with the same lazy ease as the Odas or Hanbei.

Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that the group had to stop walking three times in a row, waiting whilst one of them dragged me away from what had caught my eye, pushing me ahead until the cycle began again.

But I couldn't help it! Modern day America was too familiar and our recruitments were done in a little bit of a hurry. This could be my one chance to immerse myself fully in the time period. My possible ADHD aside, there was so much to look at, so much to hear and smell.

Those feelings nearly extended to taste, but Kojuro yanked on my wrist again, puling me away from the noodle stall that was just begging for my patronage. Having gone through practically the same routine earlier, Fortune could only grin at my excitement.

By the time we actually got to the play, the introduction music had started, and the debate over whether or not I should be tethered to one of our more responsible party members was just ending (in my favour I'm glad to say).

Unfortunately the numerous delays -that were in no way my fault- had left us at the back of the crowd, situated to where you could just see the stage, but you would have to strain your ears pretty hard. Irritated by this, Sasuke did what ninjas do and snuck closer to the front, under the disguise of keeping an eye out for Okuni. It's just as well he did, because upon his return during the interval, he was eager to laugh over the actresses' dialogue, while we'd been stuck with Ranmaru and Hanbei, who tried valiantly but ultimately failing at lip reading.

Not that I was giving the stage my complete focus. I wanted to be the first to spot Okuni, going on my three factors of pink parasol, graceful movements and a high pitched voice. About ten minutes in, I gave up due to the fact that there were no parasols in sight, we were deaf to the goings on of the play, and even graceful movements were out due to the elegance in which the actresses performed.

During the second interval, while Sasuke filled us in again, I felt someone's eyes on me. That uncomfortable sensation when you know someone's watching, but you don't know who, and you don't know why.

"Something wrong?" Fortune whispered, following my eyes to the stage. It was clear for now, set changes going on with the sun goddess's pond being exchanged for a dowdy cave.

"It's probably nothing." I reassured, noticing by now the others were taking notice of our chat.

"More plans?" Nobunaga smirked.

"Don't worry, we have no shortage of them! I'm just questioning her choice of _Mario _references."

The play started up again, the creepy feeling leaving as Amaterasu shut herself up in the cavern.

* * *

To put it simple and sweetly, kabuki cast the same spell as the theatre back home did. Even in the cheap seats, we could see how Okuni's troupe of actresses was unique in their skill, and certainly not the shameful women they would later be portrayed as.

The hypnosis was broken by the applause in front of me, and even then a second passed before I joined in, sad to know that it had ended. As the crowds dispersed, women emerged from behind the stage, looking completely different now that their artistic makeup had been removed, and rattled their collecting buckets. Keiji immediately moved to put some of his own money in, and within seconds had complimented the whole display, bring a smile to the girl's face. But Fortune and I were too distracted with our own problem.

"I knew it wouldn't be the last obstacle!" I groaned, leaning heavily on one of the Date men as pins and needles ruthlessly attacked my numb feet. Time for an old family trick… "Can one of you step on my foot?"

"Gladly." Masamune smirked, pressing firmly downwards. The increased pressure reminded my nerves there was a foot there, and within seconds, the feeling began to return. Along with a different kind of feeling. Whoever was watching me before had started up again, the sensation getting closer and closer with every heartbeat.

"I knew it!" Our whole party turned on the spot, meeting Okuni's smile with looks of outright shock. Behind her, Keiji had returned from charming the girls, and was simply staring. "I knew I felt the presence of a Mystic!"

"Close but not quite." Hanbei explained, deadpan serious for once. The effect dulled any smiles, and even Masamune moved his foot. "None of us are Mystics, but I think Flaxen has some ties to them."

First I've heard! "Nice joke Hanbei, if I have ties to the Mystic Realm, why do I have to get up at four to do homework?" Next to me, Fortune was covering her mouth in understanding, her expression mirrored by Ranmaru.

"So that's why…"

Whatever the end of that sentence might have been, it was quickly confirmed by Hanbei. "It might be a very dilute link, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is…you're sort of powering the bandwagon."

So sue me, my reaction was a little lacklustre. "Oh, okay." But what was I supposed to do, jump up and down like a crazy girl? Even if I'd wanted to, my pins and needles were still pricking holes in my skin. My tiredness my also have had something to do with that. "So you're saying that I have powers connected to the time stream, and I still have that homework problem?"

"Yes, it's called procrastination."

I…had no snarky response to that. There was nothing more awkward than the king of sleep calling you lazy. Of course then I actually remembered Okuni and the whole exorcising-the-Demon-King plan, so I gently nudged Fortune. "You know, it's such a boy's club on the wagon."

She tilted her head a little, but caught my drift, a large smirk spreading across her face. "Oh yeah, no chance for makeup or a good gossip."

"If only we had someone to help alleviate the boredom."

"Not to mention Lady Flaxen's unknown abilities." Kojuro reminded. "You appear to be somewhat knowledgeable in the subject."

The second she saw him, Okuni was sold on the idea.

* * *

"Maybe it's the hair?"

"Nah, women love deep voices."

"I'm putting my money on the scar."

Apparently Okuni zeroing in on Kojuro alone was enough to begin a deep discussion about what women looked for in a man. Dodging around the Date men, I caught up with Fortune, who had been discussing things with Hanbei. Spotting me coming, the strategist moved to the side a little bit, letting me between them.

"So it was you all along huh?" He smirked, ruffling my hair a little bit. "I figured it had to be one of you pair."

"Guess so, but we could've saved the horses a trip if you hadn't pestered her with all your questions!" I looked up at Fortune's words.

"Saved the horses a trip?"

"Long story, not one I want to remember right now, like Hanbei and Mt Inaba."

Even though we'd carried on walking, Hanbei had stopped dead in his tracks, a look of horror slowly spreading across his face. "Uh, how much do you know?"

"Just that you captured the castle with only a few men." Fortune hastily placated. I on the other hand was still feeling the rude awakening he'd given me earlier.

"Well, that and your sister lost one of her kimonos that day."

Contrary to my expectations, Hanbei looked relieved, if a little embarrassed. "Phew, for a second there, I thought you were talking about…well I won't go into that incident."

Great, there goes my curiosity!

"I didn't know you guys knew Oyu. Did she achieve something great after my death?" Suddenly feeling really uncomfortable with the subject, after all, not many would refer to their own death so breezily; I looked to Fortune for guidance. She came through brilliantly.

"Well, a book was written about Lord Hideyoshi, and both of you played a large role. Flaxen, did you bring your copy?"

Since Hanbei was looking straight at me, I couldn't subtly remind Fortune of the uh, relationship between Hideyoshi and Oyu. Luckily, I hadn't thought to pack one of my most reliable sources of Japanese history. The entire contents of the sweet jar? Yes. _Taiko? _No. "Sorry, can't say I did."

Shrugging, Hanbei returned to walking, and even though we were a little behind, we were still back in time to hear Kojuro tell the Date men to knock it off.

"Since Okuni will be joining us in the morning, it's probably best we set up camp for the night." Sasuke advised, leaning against the bandwagon. "We've done a lot today."

"For better or worse." Masamune grumbled, not so slyly looking at Nobunaga. With any luck, our Demon King would prove to be a valuable teammate, and he and the rest of th- oh who am I kidding? Short of a miracle, there's going to be suspicion on that front.

Even so, he and Nohime volunteered to look for firewood, whilst Fortune and I rolled out the blankets that I'd stowed away prior to starting the trip, and Ranmaru collected the cushions. While the fire was set up, and the men were discussing a watch schedule, I claimed an area close to the conversation, curling up as I did so.

Before I realised it, I was fast asleep, and dreaming of my crossbow bolt making it a little closer to Akechi…


End file.
